How to live an affordable digital nomad lifestyle

The rise of the digital nomad

A digital nomad is someone using tech to earn a living and conduct their life in a nomadic manner. Such workers typically work remotely, from foreign countries, coffee shops, public libraries, co-working spaces, and even recreational vehicles to accomplish tasks and goals that traditionally took place in a single, stationary workplace.

Being a digital nomad is more possible now than it has ever been. COVID restrictions and travelling aside, there's a tremendous opportunity for this type of lifestyle which stems from things that could be perceived as negative, but actually, they can be opportunities for a nomad:

• Insecurity: Organisations and opportunities are moving around, online and elsewhere. For some, this makes them feel nervous, but it's an opportunity for a nomad because work becomes more evenly distributed.
• "Secure" jobs are disappearing: A lot of people have faced redundancy recently. But this is an opportunity for a nomad because more organisations will look for part-time or freelance staff.
• Job automation: With the rise of digital transformation, people who have good knowledge of tech, social media, web etc are at a great advantage. These kinds of jobs didn't exist 15 years ago, and they'll keep on evolving and creating remote opportunities.
• An uncertain future: Adaptability is the number one, most desirable skill in the world of work at the moment, as well as organisation. These kinds of skills are going to be in demand going forward as the world of work changes in a post-pandemic world.

How to get it right

We've seen the nomad lifestyle work really well for some people, but it's not worked well for others as they can burn themselves out. We suggest firstly getting really clear on why you're doing it and why it's interesting to you. This will help you to choose where you go, who you go with, the kinds of opportunities you take, and what you need to do beforehand. Take some time to think about the questions:

• What do you want to get out of it?
• Why are you going?
• What places do you want to try?
• What matters to you? e.g weather, community, location
• What lifestyle are you looking to lead?
• Do you prefer to travel often, or infrequently?
• How will you know if you're been successful?
• Do I want to be a digital nomad or do I want to be location independent?

As an example, if you want to work somewhere really rural with good weather but you're working on complicated projects, you're going to need really good internet. This will help to define your journey and the kind of lifestyle you want.

Step 2 is boring but necessary. Sort your money out. Failing to plan when it comes to money could ruin your experience. Ensure you've got your finances in order so that you can relax and have a good experience without worrying about money. If you got into a sticky situation abroad, without your support networks, this could be quite difficult for you. Think about:

• How much money will I need? (Including contingencies!)
• When will you need it by?
• How much do you need to save between now and then?

It's a good idea to set up a 'f*uck off fund', so you have everything in one place. If you wanted to leave tomorrow, you wouldn't want to be in a situation where you're financially constrained, somewhere unsafe, or without a job with no contingency. Our suggestion would be for you to have enough money for 5 months saved in a separate emergency fund.

We would also recommend having a 'fun fund!' so you can really make the most of your travels and enjoy it while you're there without eating into your emergency fund.

Don't forget to allow for travel costs in your budget. A lot of people only save for rent, food etc, but then forget about the money it takes to get between places.

It's worth looking into different options of banking providers before you go. There are lots of completely digital, multi-currency accounts which are made for people who travel a lot. You wouldn't want your bank card to get blocked for using it in different countries, and you want to avoid too many transaction fees! It's also much safer to have a card rather than carrying cash when travelling. Take a look at Monzo, Revolut, Wise and Starling.

Be prepared

If you're making a big lifestyle change, for example going from working full-time to digital nomad/freelance, it's worth testing and adjusting what your new normal will look like. You want to get a sense of whether what you've saved is going to sustain you while travelling. It might all look fine on a spreadsheet to budget £15 a day on food, but in reality, you might be hungry all of the time! It's better to realise this before you leave.

Another thing to prepare before you go is insurance (again, boring but necessary). Travel and health insurance are really important because if something happened to you it could wipe out all your funds and put you in a difficult position. It's a good idea to make sure your tech is covered, and that they don't have any requirements about how long you can stay in a specific place.

What will you do when you get there?

Understanding your skills is imperative. Are you planning to do the same thing that you're doing right now, or are you planning to change and do something else? If you want a portfolio/freelance career it's good to have a lot of strings to your bow because different skills and different projects will wax and wane. Prioritise building new skills that you think might be fruitful or that are easier to do remotely, for example:

• Copywriting
• Web design
• Graphic design
• Social media
• Virtual assistant
• Customer service
• Programming and development
• Bookkeeping

Understanding what you'll be doing will give you a better idea of your income streams. There are lots of different options for working while travelling. You can get a full-time remote job which will likely give you a higher income, but you're more dependent on that work, so if they don't want it to be a remote role anymore it could be an issue for you. You can also speak to your current employer about your plans and see if there are opportunities for you to work remotely for them.

You can go freelance, which gives you a lot of flexibility with multiple streams of income. However, it can also be volatile with times of fewer clients. You could also get a job locally to where you're staying which could be great from a community perspective, however, depending on where it is the income could be lower and language could be a barrier. You could also set up your own business.

It's good to consider all of these options before you go, while you have the benefit of a support network, the same time zone, and the ability to meet with people.

It's also worth considering the seasonality of places. If you want to be somewhere warm over winter, it's likely that it will be peak season in those places so could be more expensive to live and work from there. It's a good idea to research this when making decisions about where to go and your work plans.

Remember, you'll still need breaks

Even if you're working from your ideal location, remember that you still will need to take breaks and time off. Factor that into your financial plans too.

Try before you buy

Before you give up your house or job, you might want to make sure it's right for you first.

You'll learn a lot from trying something out for a year and you're more likely to have a better experience when you go long-term. There are some great organisations with various options for length of time, type of work, and a mix of how much is planned out for you. Have a look at Remote Year, Unsettled and Workaway. You can also meet other people doing similar things through organisations like Nomad List.

When it comes to managing money

What does a rich life mean to you? What's the lifestyle that you want to support with the work that you do while you're travelling? There are 2 ways of managing money while travelling. Conscious spending and earning more.  

Conscious spending

This is all about prioritising - Focusing on spending money on things that are really important to you rather than not spending money at all. This is how you go from having an unattainable lifestyle to one that is an affordable lifestyle: What can you replace with something that's going to give you the same amount of joy, but costs a little bit less.

For example, if you wanted to find somewhere that costs less than £750 a month to live. You could choose Thailand it could cost around £600 pounds per month, but you could also go to Buenos Aires and have an equally great experience and it could cost £400.

For anyone who's travelling and living the digital nomad lifestyle, your accommodation is probably going to be your largest cost. Something that could save you a lot of money when you're travelling is house-sitting versus renting. It doesn't have to be worse than getting your own place - It can bring just as much joy, but actually save you serious amounts of money.

Earning more

As yourself, what assets do you have that you can make extra money from?

There are so many creative options for this! For example on a site like Stash Bee you can rent out spare space in your loft, a spare bedroom, or any spare storage to people who need spare space. Depending on your circumstance, when you go on holiday, you could rent your room out or your house out on Airbnb to make some money while you're away.

If you have a spare bedroom, you could rent it out to language students. For example, with organisations like Education First, if you a host a family or students you can be paid weekly for that.

If you've got a parking space at your house you can rent it out. If you have a car, you can share it and actually make money off of something that you're not using very often. You can take surveys and even test new video games to make money.

Think about being ambitious for the life and not the salary. Your financial circumstances will change when you are living a digital nomad lifestyle. You might find that your needs from an income perspective are lower than what you think they might need to be.

Myths about being a digital nomad

1. It's expensive: It can cost as little or as much as you choose. You get to choose where you spend your money on and ultimately that can be a little or a lot, and it doesn't have to be expensive.
2. It's hard to find work: The reality is there are loads of opportunities to make money remotely, whether that's remote jobs, full-time work, or new ways of making money like renting out your spare room.
3. My skills won't translate: Covid has proved most things can be done remotely. And you can always learn some new skills.
4. It's one big holiday: It is still work, you're living and working somewhere else.